Positioning educators and energy workforce mentors in place-based rural energy transition education

Heidi Cian, Devan Arnold · 2026 · Frontiers in Education

Summary. Scientists and educators collaborating on rural energy education often create power imbalances that undervalue teacher expertise. This study examined how scientists and middle school STEM teachers were positioned during planning sessions for the Rural Energy Futures program. The researchers found that interactions either reinforced negative views of educators, acknowledged shared expertise, or elevated the scientist's authority. Better-designed professional learning environments can structure scientist-educator partnerships to recognize and respect teachers' knowledge.

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@article{cian-2026-positioning-educators-energy-workforce-mentors,
  title   = {Positioning educators and energy workforce mentors in place-based rural energy transition education},
  author  = {Heidi Cian and Devan Arnold},
  journal = {Frontiers in Education},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.3389/feduc.2026.1873020},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2026.1873020}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Positioning educators and energy workforce mentors in place-based rural energy transition education
AU  - Heidi Cian
AU  - Devan Arnold
JO  - Frontiers in Education
PY  - 2026
DO  - 10.3389/feduc.2026.1873020
UR  - https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2026.1873020
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.3389/feduc.2026.1873020

Countries

United States

Regions

North America

Categories

energy, education, regional-innovation-systems, general-innovation

Added

2026-09-01